妙法蓮華經玄贊 8.320

8.320

贊曰：二毀者罪過佛，惡世損多故。《大集經》云：「毀罵犯戒比丘，過出萬億佛身血」。《大般若．勝天王會》云：「若殺大千界微塵數佛得罪尚輕，毀謗此經罪過於彼，永入地獄無有出期」。今毀讀誦者亦復如是，若損害佛不損二利行，佛不生惱故；損讀誦者損二利之行，生煩惱故。又雖毀佛，佛無愛憎，不廢說經利益彌廣；若毀讀誦者，為有怨親，廢其修習。又罵佛甚為難，罵讀誦者甚為易，誡其勿爾故作是說。又佛在時眾生根勝，雖有罵佛不退善心，雖自損深損他淺故；佛無已後眾生垢重，毀持經者，一切聞已多退道心，自他損重故作是說。《華手經》云：「若人壞亂菩提心者，乃為毀滅一切眾生大法光明，罪過五無間，五無間逆不毀壞一切佛法故，毀菩提心者則為毀壞一切佛法。」又佛滅後依法讀誦甚為難有，能為惡世眾生善友，故毀罵者罪過罵佛。「呰」音茲此反。毀作訛。《玉篇》「口毀曰呰呵也」。

The Commentary says: Second, the sin of the slanderer exceeds that of slandering the Buddha, because in an evil age the harm done is great. The *Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra* says: 'To revile and scold a monk who has broken the precepts exceeds shedding the blood of ten thousand billion buddhas.' The *Sujayavikrāntaparipṛcchā* assembly of the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra* says: 'Even if one were to kill buddhas as numerous as the dust motes of a great chiliocosm, the sin incurred would still be light; but the sin of slandering this sūtra exceeds that, and one will enter hell forever with no time of release.' Now, slandering those who read and recite it is also like this: if one harms the Buddha, it does not harm the practice of the two benefits, for the Buddha generates no affliction; but harming those who read and recite it harms the practice of the two benefits, because it generates afflictions [in them]. Furthermore, though one slanders the Buddha, the Buddha has neither love nor hate, and does not desist from expounding the sūtra to increasingly broad benefit; but if one slanders those who read and recite it, because they still have enmity and affection, they may abandon their practice. Furthermore, reviling the Buddha is very difficult, but reviling those who read and recite it is very easy; this is said in order to admonish them not to do so. Furthermore, when the Buddha was in the world, the faculties of sentient beings were superior; although there were those who reviled the Buddha, they did not regress from their wholesome mind, because although their own harm was deep, their harm to others was shallow; after the Buddha's passing, the defilements of sentient beings are heavy, and if one slanders those who uphold the sūtra, all who hear it will mostly regress from the mind directed toward the Way, and thus, because the harm to self and others is grave, this is said. The *Hastikakṣya-sūtra* says: 'If a person disturbs and corrupts the bodhicitta, they thereby extinguish the great Dharma radiance of all sentient beings, and their sin exceeds the five inexpiable sins (ānantarya), because the five inexpiable transgressions do not destroy all buddha-dharmas, whereas destroying the bodhicitta destroys all buddha-dharmas.' Furthermore, reading and reciting according to the Dharma after the Buddha's extinction is very rare, and [such a person] is able to be a spiritual friend to the sentient beings of an evil age; therefore, the sin of one who reviles them exceeds that of reviling the Buddha. The pronunciation of *cǐ* (呰) is the fanqie of *zī* and *cǐ*. 'To revile' is written erroneously. The *Yupian* says: 'Verbal disparagement is called *cǐ*, to scold.'